Downloads: Press Release
‘Brooklyn Castle,’ ‘American Promise’ to Screen on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013, in the ‘Talking Transition’ Tent in Lower Manhattan. New Yorkers Invited to Meet the Filmmakers, Discuss the Issues That Impact Our Children
The award-winning PBS documentary series POV, which is based in Brooklyn, will take part in Talking Transition, a community engagement initiative that gives New Yorkers the opportunity to talk about the issues that matter most following the election of the new mayor, Bill de Blasio. On Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013 starting at 4 p.m. in the Talking Transition tent on Canal Street and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, POV will present two films focusing on education: Brooklyn Castle, which looks at afterschool programs and a champion chess team, and American Promise, which asks how we can help black boys succeed in school and in life.
POV Schedule, Sunday, Nov. 17 in the Tent on Canal Street and Sixth Avenue:
4-6 p.m.: Screening of excerpts from Brooklyn Castle followed by Q&A with filmmaker Katie Dellamaggiore and chess champs Pobo Efekoro and Patrick Johnston. About the film: Brooklyn public school I.S. 318, serving mostly minority students from working-class families, has won more than 30 national chess championships, the country’s best record. Brooklyn Castle is the exhilarating story of five of the school’s aspiring young players and how chess became the school’s unlikely inspiration for academic success. Visit www.pbs.org/pov/brooklyncastle.
6:30-9 p.m.: Screening of American Promise, followed by Q&A with filmmakers Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson. About the film: American Promise spans 13 years as Brewster and Stephenson, middle-class African-American parents in Brooklyn, film their son and his best friend as they make their way through Manhattan’s private Dalton school and Brooklyn’s public Benjamin Banneker Academy. American Promise premieres on Monday, Feb. 3, 2014 on the POV series. Learn more at www.pbs.org/pov/americanpromise.
Both Brooklyn Castle and American Promise are part of American Graduate: Let’s Make It Happen, a national public media initiative made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to identify and implement solutions to the dropout crisis and help parents and teachers keep students on the path to a successful future.
Talking Transition, which began on Nov. 7, seeks to expand the typical transition process between Election Day and Inauguration into a public discussion of policy issues and ideas that affect the everyday lives of New Yorkers. In addition to its events in Manhattan, the project is reaching into all five boroughs through mobile and digital platforms. Visit www.talkingtransitionNYC.com.
About POV
Produced by American Documentary, Inc. and now in its 26th season on PBS, the award-winning POV is the longest-running showcase on American television to feature the work of today’s best independent documentary filmmakers. POV has brought more than 365 acclaimed documentaries to millions nationwide. POV films have won every major film and broadcasting award, including 32 Emmys, 15 George Foster Peabody Awards, 10 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards, three Academy Awards® and the Prix Italia. Since 1988, POV has pioneered the art of presentation and outreach using independent nonfiction media to build new communities in conversation about today’s most pressing social issues. Visit www.pbs.org/pov.
POV Community Engagement and Education (www.pbs.org/pov/outreach)
POV’s Community Engagement and Education team works with educators, community organizations and PBS stations to present more than 600 free screenings every year. In addition, we distribute free discussion guides and standards-aligned lesson plans for each of our films. With our community partners, we inspire dialogue around the most important social issues of our time.
